TV helps guide preparation.(Chicago Tribune)

One of the more unusual stretches of any season came to an end Monday. What it meant to this Bears team will be apparent in the weeks to come.

After six weeks of playing games every other week, and four days in five without practicing, the Bears are beginning preparations for the Atlanta Falcons, who have lost Pro Bowl tailback Jamal Anderson (knee) for the season and wide receiver Tony Martin (collarbone) for another four to five weeks.

Some players' preparations were different from others.

Defensive end Phillip Daniels, who played at Georgia but has never played in the Dome, has come up with 195 tickets for friends and relatives.

"I think it'll be fun going back," Daniels said, then laughed. "I didn't pay for all of (the tickets). I'd have learned to say no quickly if I'd had to pay for all of them."

Others watched football on television over the weekend. But professional football players do not watch professional football games quite the same as the general public.

Left tackle Blake Brockermeyer was interested in the play of certain left tackles around the league. Defensive right end Daniels also watched left tackles, but with a different take than Brockermeyer's.